After returning home with the child, her ex-husband knelt down and gently coaxed her.

midnight.

The silvery moonlight streamed in through the narrow window of the hotel bathroom, casting a faint reflection on the porcelain-white floor and creating a clear black-and-white dividing line.

In the dark corner, the woman huddled up, tightly hugging her trembling body.

"Did your ex-husband also love your feigned innocence? How many men have you fooled with this trick?"

"An Ning, have you no shame?!"

"Disgusting, greasy, and makes me want to vomit."

The man's cold words drifted past her ears, one by one.

A look of disdain, intimate gestures, a kiss that lands...

Each frame pierced her heart.

Anning hugged her knees tightly, her fingertips digging into her arms, her pale face buried in her arms as she sobbed.

"Anning, I beg you, leave Lu Xiyan."

"I'm kneeling before you!"

"Anning, if you want to save your brother's life, then disappear from his side!"

"Miss An, you can only choose one: your brother or west Yan. It's up to you to choose between the ridiculous love you talk about, or the blood ties that bind you together. The choice is yours."

"You saw it, he almost lost his life because of you! Being with him, you're ruining him!"

A heart-wrenching pain shot through her chest, and Anning let out a painful yet suppressed sob.

She cried uncontrollably, yet desperately tried not to make a sound.

She clutched her throbbing chest and gasped for breath.

She reached out, trying to grasp the faint moonlight, but she couldn't hold onto anything.

The moonlight shone on her scarred left wrist, where long, thin scars snaked and twisted, a shocking sight.

When overwhelming grief overwhelmed her and broke her last shred of reason, her instinctive thought was to find something to slit that fragile blood vessel.

The thought of self-harm was screaming wildly in her mind, but suddenly a small towel on the bathroom shelf brought her back to her senses.

It's square, small, lake blue, and embroidered with a cool cartoon motorcycle.

Her heart was breaking, and she wept softly.

Anning, you can't die.

Xianxian still needs you.

You have to live.

Just like four years ago, curled up there, living slowly, very slowly.

She scrambled to her feet, drenched in sweat, and with trembling hands pulled two sertraline tablets from the drawer, which she then swallowed.

Peace will come, everything will be alright.

......

The weekend was a rare cool day in Jinghai.

A summer breeze was blowing, the sun was out, and the air was filled with the fragrance of plants.

In a dessert shop outside Jinghai Medical University, Xiao Anxian, wearing a white T-shirt with cartoon patterns and matching shorts, was sitting on a sofa by the window, enjoying the juice in her cup.

Anning looked at the slightly puffed-up, chubby cheeks and smiled, "Xianxian, your uncle will be here soon. When you see him, be sure to greet him politely."

Xiao Anxian took a big gulp of juice, nodded obediently, and said, "Okay!"

An Ning looked out the window and saw a tall, slender figure dressed in white shirt and black pants running towards her from the school gate across the street.

She suddenly stood up, watching the boy's figure getting closer and closer.

An Yucan quickly ran into the store and recognized An Ning at a glance.

He stood at the door, staring blankly at her, and tears immediately streamed down his face.

An Ning's gaze fell on the boy's long legs. The boy who used to be in a wheelchair has now stood up and can run and jump.

He's grown taller and his physique has become a little more robust, but he's still a bit thin.

An Ning looked at his handsome face, and her vision instantly blurred with tears.

The next moment, the boy ran up to her and hugged her tightly.

"Sister..." he asked in a trembling voice, "Where have you been? Why didn't you tell me? Where have you been all these years?"

Four years have passed. An Ning left Jinghai without any warning, without even saying goodbye.

An Yucan thought she would never come back.

He just heard someone at school tell him that his sister was waiting for him outside the school, and he almost thought he had misheard.

Unexpectedly, his sister really came back!

"I just went out to clear my head. I've been away for a few years." Anning gently touched the back of his head. "I know your surgery went smoothly and you got into a good university in good health."

"Sister, the year you left, I had a heart transplant." An Yu-chan released her, wiped away his tears, and asked, "Where did the resources come from? Where did the money come from?"

An Yucan isn't stupid; he's been sick for so many years, and the An family still hasn't been able to raise enough money for his surgery.

Even if you have enough money for the surgery, a heart transplant isn't something you can just do because you have money.

Finding a suitable heart requires enormous financial and material resources, far beyond what a family like theirs can afford.

"Was it west Yan who helped?" An Yucan asked eagerly. "Sister, tell me, was your breakup with Xi Yan related to your leaving Jinghai?"

He asked too many questions. Anning smiled and reached out to pat his head. "We just met, and you haven't even glanced at your own nephew before asking so many questions?"

An Yucan froze, her gaze shifting downwards, only then noticing a fair-skinned, chubby-cheeked child sitting next to her.

"Uncle?" Little Anxian looked up. "Mommy, is this my uncle?"

"This is my uncle," An Ning said with a smile. "Yu Can, this is my son, An Xian."

The boy was shocked. "You're married?"

"We're divorced," An Ning said casually.

An Yu-chan frowned, staring at Xiao An-xian, and subconsciously clenched his fist. "Was his father bad to you? Why did you divorce him?"

"None of that matters," Anning said. "As long as my son is mine, that's enough."

She didn't want to talk too much about herself, so she changed the subject and asked him, "Why did you choose to study medicine in college?"

An Yucan pushed the pastry in front of him to An Xuan, his clear eyes shining. "Maybe it's because I've been sick myself, so I want to save people. And if I become a doctor, it will be more convenient for our family members to see a doctor when they get sick."

Looking at his aspirations, Anning's eyes revealed a sense of satisfaction.

She kept Li Chunfang's illness a secret from him, and since An Yucan only went home once a month for vacation, he didn't know that Li Chunfang was hospitalized and needed surgery.

Anning didn't plan to tell him now, so as not to make him worry and affect his studies.

"Sis, when did you get back?"

"A few days ago," Anning made an excuse, "I had some things to take care of after I got back, so I came to see you as soon as I had some free time."

An Yucan thought for a moment, then looked up at An Ning, "Sister, have you met with Brother Xiyan since you came back?"

An Ning felt a pang of pain in her heart whenever Lu Xiyan was mentioned.

She nodded slightly. "Yes, I saw you."

"Can you two get back together?" the boy asked hastily. "Sis, why did you break up in the first place? I could tell that Brother Xiyan really liked you."